Tuesday, March 29, 2016

7:00 PM

This election cycle, many politicians and voters have condemned Donald Trump and Ben Carson’s comments about Muslims, particularly when it comes to the ability of Muslims to serve in leadership roles in America. Yet, polls show that many Americans harbor religious bias when it comes to candidates.

Join author and journalist Keli Goff as she explores the complicated terrain of religion and the presidency with:

- Cornell Belcher(by phone), political strategist and president of brilliant corners Research & Strategies

- Rev. Dr. Calvin Butts, pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem and president of SUNY College at Old Westbury

- Sister Simone Campbell, author of A Nun on the Bus: How All of Us Can Create Hope, Change, and Community and executive director of NETWORK, a national group of social justice advocates

- Stephen Mansfield, author of the bestselling books, The Faith of George W. Bush and The Faith of Barack Obama

- Imam Sohaib Sultan, Muslim chaplain at Princeton University, TIME magazine contributor and author of The Koran for Dummies

- Ron Christie, former special assistant to President George W. Bush and deputy assistant to Vice President Dick Cheney. He has written three books on race and politics in America.

Video Webcast

This election season, sidestep the horserace and join us for our only-in-New York cocktail party and conversation series for the politically curious. This is not another partisan shoutfest or predictable pundit roundtable. These are conversations that will be clever, passionate and political, yet civil. Thoughtful contrarianism is encouraged. Talking points are not.

An internationally recognized multi-platform journalist and fiction writer, Keli Goff’s work has appeared in many publications including Time, Cosmopolitan, Essence, The Washington Post and the web editions of TheNew YorkTimes and The Atlantic, among others. She is author of two books, including Party Crashing: How the Hip-Hop Generation Declared Political Independence (Basic Books, March 2008).

She is currently a columnist for The Daily Beast, and is also an award-winning writer for theater and television.

For her work on the third season of the hit television series “Being Mary Jane,” she was awarded a 2016 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series. In December 2015 she completed a two-year playwriting fellowship with The Public Theater, the legendary artistic institution best known for producing Shakespeare in the Park.

Keli has appeared on more than 100 national and international news programs on the networks, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, FOX, BET and the BBC, providing political analysis and cultural criticism. Learn more atwww.keligoff.com and follow her on Twitter @keligoff

Part of The NEXT New York Conversation series which brings together changemakers, newsmakers and tastemakers to illuminate relevant topics that are redefining and reshaping our 21st century.